I don’t do many book reviews for a number of reasons. I buy more books than I can possibly read, those I start I rarely finish and I’m a damn slow reader. At the end of last year, my friend Don Mann sent me his latest book ‘Inside SEAL Team Six’. I’ve worked with Don and his wife Dawn on a number of occasions shooting their Primal Quest Adventure Race in the US. It’s a thrilling hard-core adventure race, classified as one of the toughest human endurance races in the world. Completing the Gobi March does in a way make me feel part of this unique clan of adventure seekers.

Christmas brings a downtime to the business so I tend to start the season with great intent to finish a (new) book. My choices this past Christmas were Andre Agassi’s Open, Steve Jobs Biography, Robin Sharma’s signed copy of The Leader who has no Title and Don’s aforementioned book. Not an easy pick. Most of them being biographies mean it’s like having a conversation with the author. Whilst flicking through Don’s book, I noticed lot’s of black-out text, the redaction of classified material, which strangely enough was what sealed my choice.

And what a great choice it turned out to be. Inside SEAL Team Six makes a great adventurous read. My previous knowledge of Don’s military background was scant so to read his life story was inspirational. A few rough years as a youngster, followed by a few ‘bat-out-of-hell, shit-kicker’ motorcycle years led to an enormous desire to join the army and ultimately, this led him to being one of the top army elites.

I devoured this book, cover to cover, in a very short time. Of course, it helps that some sections feature more black than text, yet that only adds to the excitement of the words that were concealed. What did the CIA, FBI or Pentagon not approve? At one stage, I found myself trying to scrape off the redactions with my nails in the hope of catching some juicy details underneath. No luck though. Nonetheless, what a great story. Indeed, what a life! I simply loved reading it.

His book has shot up the ranks in the States being listed as the New York Times bestseller and the Washington Post Political Bestseller.